War on Terrorism

Monday, May 21, 2012

Combined Afghan, Coalition Force Detains Taliban Facilitator

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 – A combined
Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban facilitator in the
Zharay district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province today, military officials
reported.

The facilitator supplied insurgents in
the district with weapons, ammunition and equipment for attacks against Afghan
and coalition troops and coordinated suicide bombings and indirect-fire attacks
against Afghan police compounds and checkpoints throughout Zharay, officials
said.

The security force also detained two
other insurgents and found 11 pounds of illegal narcotics.

In Kandahar’s Panjwai district
yesterday, a combined security force found and destroyed about 1,500 pounds of
hashish.

An Afghan-led security force supported
by coalition troops captured a senior Taliban leader and two other insurgents
in Kandahar’s Dand district May 19. The leader, who operates in Helmand
province’s Lashkar Gah district, tried to control the local population through
murder and intimidation and is suspected in coordinating the assassination of a
government official in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

In May 18 operations:

-- A combined security force detained
several insurgents, seized and destroyed explosives and weapons and destroyed
an opium field in Baghlan province’s Baghlan-e-Jidid district.

-- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported
security force detained several insurgents while searching for a senior Taliban
leader in Helmand’s Nad-e Ali district. The leader, an explosives expert,
directs attacks in the Nad-e Ali and Lashkar Gah districts and coordinates with
other Taliban leaders to supply weapons, ammunition, equipment and explosives
to subordinates.

-- In Kandahar’s Panjwai district, a
combined security force found and destroyed about 300 pounds of hashish, and a
combined security force in Kandahar’s Zharay district found and destroyed 220
pounds of hashish.

In other news, a combined security force
captured a senior Taliban leader and two other insurgents in Kunduz province’s
Aliabad district May 16. The leader was the Taliban liaison for the Peshawar
Shura, a group responsible for insurgent activity in eastern and northern
Afghanistan. He also served as a facilitator for the Nuristan Taliban shadow
governor and organized the transportation of weapons, foreign fighters and
suicide bombers for attacks throughout the region.